Contents

History

Early Life

Matilda as a baby.

The younger sister of Mighty the Armadillo, Matilda was born in Mercia, and with her brother was the child of two Armadillo thieves. When their parents were incarcerated for their crimes by the father of Rob o' the Hedge, the young Mighty made a bargain with Mammoth Mogul for super strength he could use to save them, only to be exiled himself. Matilda subsequently ended up in an orphanage, having been told that her family had all either been executed or exiled for crimes against the kingdom, where she remained until being kidnapped-along with others-on the orders of Dr. Ivo Robotnik. (StH: #185, SU: #46, #47, #48)

Matilda as a Robian.

Matilda was one of the many victims of Roboticization during the First Robotnik War; as a mindless Robian, she was among those set against Sand Blast City. However, when the Bem performed a mass deroboticization of almost all Robians on Mobius, she suddenly found herself returned to normal without knowing what had happened. Additionally, she remained a number of years younger physically than she was chronologically, due to the effects of Roboticization. The former Robians attempted to settle in Sand Blast City before getting ready to return home; however, the Sand-Blasters didn't trust them and treated them as second-class citizens, driving them into the badlands. Wanting to protect the group, Beauregard Rabbot was forced to approach the Eggman Empire for help; all of the former Robians received cybernetic upgrades and became a new chapter of the Dark Egg Legion. Though Beauregard made an effort of looking after Matilda, her traumatic experiences had caused her to become emotionally withdrawn, expressing little outward feeling. (StH: #217, SU: #46, #48)

Protecting the Oil Ocean Refinery

In exchange for being Legionized, the new DEL chapter was ordered to run and protect the Oil Ocean Refinery for Eggman. They made a new home for themselves in the badlands, constructing rough settlements and weapons. While Grandmaster Beauregard showed his niece Bunnie "Rabbot" D'Coolette around the settlement, he was interrupted by Matilda, who was carrying a large supply crate several times her size with one hand. She calmly asked him where he wanted it placed, addressing him as "Baron" as many of the chapter do. The next morning, the Legion headed out for the Oil Ocean Refinery in order to protect it from the Sand-Blasters who hoped to take over the facility for themselves. Matilda piloted the Legion saucer carrying Beauregard and Bunnie; she reacted only mildly when Sonic the Hedgehog suddenly attacked, punching the Baron in the face. Bunnie retaliated on instinct, throwing Sonic towards the refinery. (StH: #217)

Matilda watches the fight from her saucer.

While Sonic and Bunnie fought inside the refinery, Matilda and Beauregard (along with the rest of the Legion) parked their saucer outside and watched the battle. Matilda calmly asked how long they would hold their position, and Beauregard replied that they'd wait until Bunnie had the situation under control or she needed their help. Later, Matilda noticed that the Sand-Blasters, who had also been waiting outside the refinery, had started to move in; Beauregard ordered her to power up the saucer so they could follow. Matilda did so, idly commenting that hopefully they'd be able to stop the fighting before the refinery was damaged even further; this comment caused Beauregard to realize that Sonic and Bunnie's fight was a ruse, allowing them to attempt to destroy as much of the refinery as possible so as to both prevent the Sand Blasters from taking it over as well as put a stop to Eggman's schemes. Eventually, a massive explosion rocked the refinery, and the Legion was forced to retreat. (StH: #218)

Family Reunion

Unbeknownst to Matilda, her long-lost brother had become aware of her continued existence and set out to find her, eventually returning to their homeland in Mercia. There he-and later his friends from the Chaotix-learned what had become of her, first by examining records kept by Friar Buck of the Mercian Freedom Fighters, and then by accessing the Eggnet. Mighty eventually made his way into the Legion camp-having previously joined the Sand-Blasters under an assumed name-and Matilda was reunited with him. Sadly, Matilda had no memories of her older brother, and informed him without emotion that she had no feelings towards him at all. She then retired for the night, leaving behind a broken-hearted Mighty and a sympathetic and disappointed Beauregard. (SU: #46, #47, #48)

The next day, Matilda oversaw the prisoner exchange alongside Beauregard. During the chaos that ensued between both sides when Jack's plot to assassinate the Baron was revealed, Ray attempted to board the carrier where Mighty was held to rescue him, only for Matilda to catch him off guard and restrain him. She did this as a result of Ray demanding that the Baron let Mighty go. After she coldly stated to Ray that she had no feelings toward Mighty, Ray angrily told Matilda about his journey to find her, of his past, how Mighty took him in when he was lost and had no home, and that he wanted the same for her. The speech awakened Matilda's repressed emotions, and even brought out a long forgotten memory of Mighy and herself as young children. When Jolt attacked and attempted to shoot Mighty, Matilda punched him away from the carrier, which prompted Jack to fire a tank round at them.

Matilda intercepted and punched the round in an attempt to protect her brother, but the explosion destroyed her right arm and knocked her unconscious. After the Sand Blasters' retreat because of Mighty's attack, Matilda was taken back to the Legion base hospital for medical treatment. After Mighty checked up on her and introduced Ray as her adopted brother, Beauregard reported bad news for both of them. Matilda was disappointed to know that, for the safety of the others, she had to stay with the Legion until she recovered, while her brother had to leave with his friends. She was reassured by Mighty that he would visit her again soon, and by the Baron that she would be permanently reunited with her brother as soon as possible. (SU: #49)

Personality

Matilda is very calm, usually polite and taciturn, though she can be incredibly blunt without intending it. She's a hard worker and obeys orders without complaint and rarely shows emotion - almost to the point of appearing constantly deadpan. This stems from her unfortunate history-ending up in an orphanage with no known family, being Roboticized, and then ending up in the Dark Egg Legion. While she is loyal to the Eggman Empire and Baron Rabbot, she seems to care for little else, barely even acknowledging her own brother when they were first reunited. However, Ray was able to help her open up, and she quickly became very attached to-and protective of-her big brother, risking herself to protect him. As a result, she became very friendly with both Mighty and Ray, and disappointed at having to be separated from them for a time.

Abilities

Due to her cybernetic arms, Matilda is shown to possess great physical strength. In particular, her arms are designed with a system that enables her to pull off an extremely powerful punch.

Background Information

The name Matilda carries a meaning of "might" or "strength."

In StH: #212, the Chaotix's Espio informed Mighty the Armadillo that while his parents are gone, he may have a little sister, still alive and somewhere in the ranks of the Dark Egg Legion. On Sonic Grams in StH: #232, it was leaked by one of the staff members that Matilda is Mighty's Sister.

Concept art of the character shows one version of her cybernetic arms that bear a strong resemblance to those of the titular mecha from the anime The Big O.

Matilda is the first rank-and-file member of Dark Egg Legion to be given a name without having been introduced prior to her appearance as a Legionnaire. All other Dark Legionnaires - besides Grandmasters - were either nameless or had been introduced prior to the formation of the Dark Egg Legion.

The fact that Mighty had a sister was first referenced in StH #120. The story indicated that Mighty's entire family had been Roboticized and that he was aware of it taking place; this appears to have later been retconned by Ian Flynn, as it was later indicated that Mighty left Mercia and lost track of his family, and Matilda was Roboticized later and their parents apparently perished.

Appearance

Matilda the Armadillo.

Matilda is a small yellow-and-black armadillo with green eyes and a green shell. Unlike most Legionnaires, she does not wear the traditional robes but rather a simple grey dress with black tights or leggings. Her eyes always appear half-lidded and her ears droop somewhat, lending towards her deadpan appearance. She has large, piston-like cybernetic arms in black, grey and red. Her shell is somewhat long and curved in the back, representing "long hair." A rough basis for the character design was provided by writer Ian Flynn while the final design was rendered by artist Ben Bates. Early designs included much larger, heavier cybernetic arms, a more detailed dress, and light blue markings around the eyes. The arms were in part inspired by the anime series The Big O.

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